Requetes

The Requetes were a Carlist-traditionalist militia that fought for Nationalist Spain during the Spanish Civil War. The Requetes consisted mostly of devout Catholic volunteers from Navarre, and many of the Requetes felt that the war was a crusade against the atheist Second Spanish Republic. They were highly motivated and well-trained, and they took part in the heavy fighting in the Basque Country in 1937 during the War in the North. On 19 April 1937, the Requetes' reactionary political branch was merged into Falange, a move that was protested by Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma, the Carlist leader. Many Carlists would be disappointed when, instead of restoring the Carlist monarchy, Falangist dictator Francisco Franco assumed power himself. The Carlists soon found themselves powerless to resist the implementaiton of a fascist dictatorship in Spain.